Easyjet has partnered with No Exclusions Limited, an insurance company formed in December 2010 in order to develop a Missed Flight Cover plan to help avoid costly flight rebooking and ease the stress of travel.
The cover costs £9.50 per person, including children, for a return flight and £7.50 one way. Customers can add the cover during the booking process at easyjet.com along with standard travel insurance, baggage and speedy boarding, among other ancillary revenue streams.
There are only three terms and conditions to fulfil:
a) You must be at the airport within four hours after the scheduled departure time
b) You must be in a “fit state to fly”
c) You must report the claim immediately either at the Easyjet sales desk at the airport or through the 24 hour re-booking line before leaving the airport and within four hours of the scheduled departure time
No reasoning for why you missed the flight is required as long as the above three conditions are met, be it traffic or just a missed alarm.
According to research by No Exclusions, 71 per cent of flyers sleep uneasily the night before a morning flight, whereas Easyjet research shows that its “no-show” rate is only between 5-6 per cent.
No Exclusions plans to partner with other airlines in offering Missed Flight Cover but would not reveal who it is in talks with at this time. The company says that the product is point to point, so a new policy must be booked for every sector.
Andrew Lothian, No Exclusions’ CEO commented: “We are extremely proud to have designed and developed Missed Flight Cover and are thrilled that Easyjet will be the first airline to launch the policy. We believe it provides an innovative and effective solution to a proven passenger concern and are confident that uptake will prove popular.”
To make a claim you must go to the Easyjet sales desk at the departure point and give them your certificate of insurance and original flight booking reference. They will make a note of the time you arrived on their system.
You can then call the dedicated re-booking line which will be able to confirm your replacement flight options or to secure a full refund (including any pre-paid flight services). All refunds should be made to the card originally used within 48 hours. During the pilot scheme, which ran from May, the response time was around five minutes to get rebooked onto another flight.
If you choose a replacement flight to the same destination the helpline will confirm the new flight details and booking reference. You can collect your boarding pass and complete the Advance Passenger Information when you check-in.
This service is not offered when booking a Flexi Fare as this already allows for flight changes up to two hours prior to departure via the phone, or one hour prior to departure at the airport sales desk.
In the terms and conditions for Flexi Fare there is also a provision for missed flights included, which states: “9.1.6 If you arrive late at the airport for your flight, provided you arrive within 2 hours of your original flight’s departure time, you should proceed to the sales desk to find out if it is possible to transfer. Subject to the payment of a Rescue Fee [£50] set out in Our Fees and Charges, we will transfer you to the next flight that has seats available.”
For more information visit easyjet.com
Report by Scott Carey
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